Faded Sunsets
by Jillessa Heronstairs
Summary: "Orange. Red. Yellow. Gold. Blue. Purple. She sat in the tree, facing the horizon and waited, watching as the bright sun drifted past her line of sight and the faintest glimmer of golden light disappeared. Fading, fading, fading, gone." Another OC story, better than Raspberries, I promise. :)


** Well... Here I am, back with another OC story... Anyway, these are super fun to write, but hopefully I'll get back to my regular writing soon. I mean, I have the chapters written... But I'm super lazy to go over them and post... **

**Not all of these OCs are mine. In fact, Felix belongs to the wonderful, magnificent SilverJem5, and Zander belongs to the fantastic, perfectical MortalShadowhunter. It's been a long ride. This is where more than six months of rp has taken us, guys. We should be proud of ourselves. I'm sorry if I screwed up any of the characters... Especially Zander and Felix. ;) But I might have messed up Clarisse as well. **

**And without further ado... One last thing.**

_**Italics: Dreams/Flashbacks. **_

* * *

**Faded Sunsets**

_"Kiss the tree," the young boy with wavy black hair and dark hazel eyes declared. "If you love them so much, why don't you make out with it?" _

_"Felix," Clarisse complained, wrapping her arms around the large oak. "I just said I wanted to marry it. Not kiss it."_

_Felix grinned. He liked giving her a hard time about her obsession with trees. "Clarisse has a boyfriend, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G." _

_"Shut up!" she exclaimed, smacking him in the shoulder. "Or I'll tell everyone about your little crush on Kayla."_

_"Oh, but she's so much younger," he sighed dramatically, placing a hand over his heart. "But then again, I like a little cradle robbing."_

_"Gross," she groaned, sticking her tongue out with a look of disgust. "She's only ten. You're thirteen."_

_"And you're twelve and this tree is probably more than a hundred years old," he taunted. "I think he's a little old for you, don't you?" _

_"He could always be a she," she reminded him. "I could go for either."_

_"You faeries and your sexual preferences," he said, mirroring her earlier expression of disgust. "I'm glad I'm only half."_

_"Kayla is full faerie," she laughed. "Which means she will outlive you. Then again, so will I."_

_"Screw dating," he scowled. "I'm only thirteen. I have a whole life ahead of me to impress the ladies." _

_"At least I have the trees," she chuckled, nimbly climbing the tree and sitting on a low hanging branch. "They're my forever."_

_Felix rolled his eyes, looking at her with a gaze of curiousness and ridicule." Whatever you say, dear Clarisse. Whatever you say."_

_The banter would continue, each trying to outsmart and make fun of the other, though neither really succeeded. _

_Still, they were the best of friends, and always had been since Felix had moved into the area where Clarisse's family lived, and they spent hours at the park, not doing anything in particular, but always having a great time. _

_He had only got her to kiss the tree once, though she did spend a great deal of time with her arms wrapped around it. Once had been enough. She had gotten painful splinters in her lips, and vowed never to do it again. _

_Funny enough, it was the pain that she remembered._

* * *

The ground was hard as she fell, landing on her arm, and she winced, standing up and dusting her clothes off. Falling out of the trees while sleeping was not pleasant, but she had somewhat grown used to it happening.

Damn the dreams. They were so real, as if they had actually happened. Each memory so vivid that she wasn't sure what was real and what wasn't.

The clearing was dark, and she could see the surrounding trees that marked the Hunt's territory in the darkness. Other members resided in the nearby trees and bushes, some on the ground, some standing around idly, chatting with one another.

By now, she had figured out that she was dead, now recruited to be part of the Wild Hunt, though, she didn't actually do anything.

Sure, she could shoot. It was the endless nights and days that she learned, though she kept her talent hidden, only practicing in the desolate areas of the forest, where no one would see her.

If they knew, they might make her go on hunts, collect more dead people.

It was death that she feared.

* * *

_"Go out with me?" Felix asked, his eyes hopeful as he handed her a small bouquet of roses. "Like... On a date?" _

_"Um... " she said, her own eyes wide at his proposal, and she took the flowers, tucking them under her arm. "Are you serious? What about Kayla?" _

_"Clarisse, I'm fifteen," he sighed, running his hand through his hair. "And she's twelve. I think I've finally worked out that it isn't going to work between us. But you're fourteen, and near my age. Plus, I like you just as much," he shrugged. "Accept my offer?" _

_She raised the flowers to her nose, inhaling deeply. The flowers smelled wonderful. "Sure, Felix," she laughed, taking a flower and tucking it into her hair. "I accept."_

_"Thank goodness," he said, letting out a breath of air. "I thought you were going to say no."_

_"Of course not," she assured him, smiling shyly. "You are my second best friend, you know."_

_"Amd who is the first?" he laughed, taking her hand and raising it to his lips to gently kiss her knuckles. "Wait. Let me guess. The trees?" _

_"Ding ding ding!" She tossed a few flower petals in the air, letting them settle around them. "You got that right."_

_"Do you still want to marry one?" he asked, only half joking. "Because if so, I don't know if I'm right to take your love away from them."_

_"Shut up," she scoffed playfully, poking him in the arm. "Stop it about the trees. You're just jealous."_

_"Never, Miss Diamond," he laughed, pulling him to her in a hug._

_And when he left, she took her seat in her favorite tree, humming under her breath and picking the flower buds off the bouquet, placing them in various spots on the tree. _

_Sure, she liked Felix. And she couldn't hurt him by rejecting him, as she had been with him through all the drama of liking a girl three years younger than he. But dating wasn't her thing. _

_She wasn't sure if it ever would be. _

_The divine scent of the flowers filled her nose as she inhaled into the blooming bud of one, before placing it on a branch, nestling it between two twigs. Continuing this pattern, she went until only the stems of the flowers were left, and the tree was decorated with rose buds. _

_Yes, it was the scent of the flowers that she remembered._

* * *

Waking up suddenly, she stared around, hearing the nearby barking of a wolf. She spotted a boy her age, messy black hair and unmatched eyes not unlike her own stilling through the fields.

She recognized the boy from a few night ago, and had instantly noticed that he always seemed to be near or caring for the wolf, and it in turn, loved him.

It melted her heart, almost. While many other faeries cared about finding a boyfriend or girlfriend within the Hunt, she admired that he was content with the large dog.

It was like her and the trees, almost, she realized, and she climbed out of the tree, following silently behind them.

Twice, the wolf noticed her presence, and turned around to investigate, but the boy would always keep it facing forward, guiding it in the direction of the stables.

At the stables, she watched as he went inside, letting the wolf settle down, before sitting next to it. Just sitting. He would never do anything else, and it made her want to reach out, talk to the young man.

But she never did.

It was too intimate a scene to barge in on.

* * *

_"I'm leaving," she whispered, her cheek resting on Felix's chest, as his arms slid around her, holding her close to him. "I can't stand it here anymore."_

_"But... You're the reason I haven't..." he said, cutting himself off when he realized that he might reveal too much. "They've... But I don't... I can't..." _

_"Stop," she said, biting her lip. "I have to leave. And I don't know where you're going to end up, but I'm sorry. I can't stay here any longer."_

_"What do you mean? You've always like it here, since your family was killed," he said, pulling away and holding her at arms length. "And you're only sixteen."_

_"I have to leave," she repeated, pulling away, and wrapping her arms around herself. "Don't ask me why... But if I don't ever see you again... Know that you were always a better friend to me than the trees," she said, forcing a bittersweet laugh. "Really." _

_"I... Okay," he sighed, pulling her close again and resting his chin on top of her head. "I'll miss you. Promise that you'll visit, if you can?" he asked. "Please?" _

_She nodded, pulling away from him, and placing a single rose in his pocket, one like the ones he had first given her. "I can if I will."_

_And then she left. _

_She supposed that he was the reason for her affliction with flowers. That for some reason, he had had so much on an impact on her, that though she may not have felt conventional love, but had found a person that truly trusted her, and was willing to let her go for the better. _

_She never found out about the destruction his life had gone to. The evil intentions and how his life had flipped from good to bad since her leaving. She would never know. _

_But in her heart, she still wouldn't call him bad. Led down an unworthy path, perhaps, but never with evil intentions. He simply loved and trusted too easily, and would do anything for those he cared about. _

_Similarly, he would never know what really happened to her. How she had left, met the werewolf that had killed her mother, and was killed in the same fashion. She had been willing, accepting of her fate. She had known that she could not avoid it, and took it in stride. _

_Sadly, the taste of blood was the last thing she remembered_.

* * *

The slickness of blood was on her hands as she was roused from her dreams. She found herself in the hidden areas of the forest, lying on the ground. She supposed she was practicing with her arrow, and by the looks of it, she had broken the string, the likely cause of the blood.

She stood, slowly making her way back to the camping grounds, when she decided to go the other way, towards the stables. Burning desire to see the black haired boy and the wolf drove her feet towards the wooden shacks.

She picked a few flowers on the way, red roses. They matched the blood covering her palms.

She hadn't loved Felix, had she? The answer was frighteningly obvious. She hadn't. She had trusted him.

Implicitly.

Did she really love anything? Why couldn't she love something, someone, anything, as much as she saw that the boy loved the wolf.

At the stables, she peered through the window, expecting to see the large wolf curled up, it's face nuzzled against the boy's leg, but there was nothing.

Sometimes, her worst enemy was herself.

* * *

"I have dreams about a wavy black haired boy," she muttered to herself, voicing her thoughts in an open field. "And dreams of a golden haired woman, similar to mine."

She flitted her fingers over her broken bow, not caring when the sharp edge sliced into her skin, and she wiped the drop of blood onto her jeans.

"This is stupid," she continued, tossing her bow away and leaning back on the ground. "They can't mean anything. But... They all... Relate to each other."

The barking of a wolf made her sit up, and she looked around, before grabbing her bow and jumping into a tree.

The black haired boy with the wolf came around on the dirt trail, and he was riding on top of it. When the wolf turned and barked at the tree, she stilled, hoping that it would pass quickly.

When he groaned, pulling on its fur to turn it around and continue going, she leapt from the tree, determined to take the back way, and get there before them.

There, she knew she would only sit and wait for none other than a simple boy and his dog, chasing the dawn of the sunset.

* * *

Orange. Red. Yellow. Gold. Blue. Purple.

She sat in the tree, facing the horizon and waited, watching as the bright sun drifted past her line of sight and the faintest glimmer of golden light disappeared.

Fading, fading, fading, gone.

All that was left was darkness, the only light illuminating the sky a crescent of the moon, high above her head.

* * *

Zander's fine black hair fell into his eyes as his head bowed, his eyes closing as he drifted off into a soundless sleep.

Zander. So that was his name. The boy with the wolf.

They were sitting on the ground of the stable, both leaning against the wooden walls of the stall as the wolf lay curled up at their feet.

She didn't know what to think of him. Sure, he was nice. And he had restrung her bow for her, which was a great help, though she might have figured it out if she had tried.

There was countless other things.

How he let her go with him to search for the wolf, how he allowed her to go hunting with him, how he let her help him back to the campsite, and now, how he let her stay in the stall, when she knew that he was very protective of the wolf.

They were friends, right?

She hoped so, as he was the first person who seemed to understand her, though even if he didn't completely, it was still a lot more than most people.

She had a feeling that her love for flowers and trees still puzzled him.

But for now, she could hold on to what she had, what she had wanted since the first time she saw him dragging the wolf by the scruff, trying to keep it from chomping down on an innocent butterfly.

Was she wrong to hope and trust?

* * *

Wavy black hair. Kind smile. Deep hazel eyes. All blurry, the visions distorted and smeared.

For the past few days, her dreams had been unrecognizable, the images scattered and torn as she slept. They were not the crisp, clean pictures she used to imagine.

Fading, fading, fading, gone.

She sat up, blinking and looking around, seeing nothing but darkness, a massive wolf, and a boy with fine black hair, his head bent and his eyes closed, hands clasped in front of him.

* * *

The boy lifted his head, looking at her sleepily. "Don't wake the wolf," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand, then wincing from the injury he had sustained earlier that day, or yesterday maybe. "He's not used to your voice yet, anyway."

She pressed her lips together, her arms around her legs as she glanced at him over the wolf's large body, curled up on the ground.

"You're awfully close to him," she whispered, keeping her voice soft as she took the flower crown for her hair, and gently picked at the petals, dropping them around her.

"I told you already. I don't get along with people well," he reminded her, wincing as his wound smarted, from as he had told her, 'Falling out a window of a two story building.'

"Am I annoying you, being here right now?" She asked suddenly, lowering her head, slightly worried for his reply. "Because... I'm sorry if I am. I'll leave you here if you want."

"No. It's okay. You can stay if you want," he replied, his voice gentle as he stretched his legs out in front of him. "Just don't talk too loud. It's still late at night, anyway."

She nodded silently, watching as he reached out to place a hand on the wolf's head. The wolf stirred, but didn't wake, and he began to rhythmically pet it.

She felt like she was barging in on a very intimate moment.

* * *

"You should sleep," he told her, after a couple minutes, his hand still smoothing over the wolf, and he regarded her over the large body with a cool gaze, his mismatched eyes soft in the dim light.

"I will," she replied, her own fingers curling in the ends of her hair, and she lowered her eyelashes slightly, breaking his gaze as she looked down.

His eyes moved from her, back to the wolf, and he leaned back slightly, his knuckles running through the soft fur.

Breathtaking love, friendship, the intricate relationship unfolding before her eyes.

She watched the teenage boy and his dog in front of her, as her eyelids slowly closed again.

Fading,

Fading,

Fading,

Gone.

* * *

**So. I like this one a lot better than Raspberries. But, I wanna know what you guys think. I know, if you aren't me or SilverJem5 or MortalShadowhunter, and you actually read this whole story, it was a bunch of words that made no sense at all.**

**But on the other hand, I have another idea... This time with Ash and Nick and Ivy and Percy... So I can't wait to write that... :) **

**Don't you just love the pretty picture of the sunset? It's also my phone background. **

**~Jillessa Heronstairs~**


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